With WeWork Staff Morale Suffering, Another Top Executive Is Leaving

Ellen Huet, Bloomberg News

Members work on laptop computers at a communal working table inside the WeWork Ocean Gate Minatomirai co-working office space, operated by The We Company, in Yokohama, Japan, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. WeWork formally withdrew the prospectus for an IPO this month, capping a botched fundraising effort that cost its top executive his job. The defeat places urgency on WeWork to find new sources of capital to keep its business running , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- As WeWork scrambles this week to raise cash needed to keep afloat, several top executives aren’t sticking around to see the results.

Chief Marketing Officer Robin Daniels is leaving, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters. He’s at least the third C-level executive to step down in the last few weeks.

After a failed attempt at an initial public offering last month, WeWork’s co-founder and chief executive officer, Adam Neumann, stepped down, as did his wife, Rebekah Neumann, a founder and chief brand officer. A spokeswoman for WeWork declined to comment.

The company, which rents office space in buildings around the world, has been floundering since its IPO sunk in September. It pulled the prospectus soon after. The company is likely to run out of money as soon as next month and is currently weighing a debt package led by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and a $5 billion rescue plan from SoftBank Group Corp., the largest shareholder in WeWork.

As part of a companywide attempt at belt-tightening, WeWork parent We Co. expects to dismiss potentially thousands of employees this month. Morale is low among staff, who are unsure of their fate or the future of the company, and some have stopped coming in to their offices, according to people familiar with the situation.

The turmoil has resulted in an exodus of WeWork management. Last month, former Vice Chairman Michael Gross and Chief Product Officer Chris Hill resigned. Jimmy Asci, the communications chief, stepped down last week.

To contact the author of this story: Ellen Huet in San Francisco at ehuet4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Milian at mmilian@bloomberg.net, Jillian Ward